Monday, March 31, 2008

Just wanted to post this out there now- Matthew is out in the field this week! So if you are looking for a phone date, I'm most likely available! Call any time, or e-mail me and we'll set one up. This is probably the last window for phone dates until we get to Fort Campbell in early May because we'll be traveling and then enjoying our two week break in Utah!

I've been trying to find a job and research possibilities in Clarksville/Ft. Campbell. This has been a bit of a challenge as Clarksville is a fairly small little spot on the map. Fortunately God has blessed me with another woman who will be "left behind" when our husbands deploy to the desert to discuss this with. In the mean time, I've gone back (don't I always? Oh, why!) to examining my many shortcomings as an unemployed citizen these last three months, and how to avoid that going forward.

Fortunately God has helped me, through various reminders, to get a grip and not be so prideful and self-loathing simultaneously. Long story short, one of the reminders most recently was actually this thing I wrote about a year and a half ago. I posted it on another blog of mine, one I'm sure most people don't read, and so in the past I've posted a fiction piece or two, as well as this little rant. Somehow having myself talking to myself about this issue (though focused then about identity as a student) was startlingly helpful.

It is funny how God brings about these little lessons... even from ourselves when we least expect it.

Friday, March 28, 2008

Due to a persistant and somewhat alarming pain on the left side of my chest (yeah), I had a chest Xray yesterday. I'm happy to report I had a normal Xray! That is very good news. Frustrating and total lame-age-ness that the true issues remains unknown, but it, after nearly 2 weeks, seems to be improving and I was able to work out at full capacity today without feeling like an elephant was stepping on my heart- progress!

Anyway, thanks for those of you who were praying for me about that! It IS improving. And if you had no idea... well shame on you! Ha, no, just kidding, but now you know as I do... I have one FANTASTIC looking rib cage! Woo!

I'm so glad that it is warming up-- my cravings are turning from fries and burgers (though those never REALLY leave) to my undeniable desire for fresh fruit, light salads, and other fresh dishes. Phew! Granted, I did make Calzones last night that were delicious, but still. I just had a ridiculously healthy lunch if I do say so, and I enjoyed it, and my belly is quite pleased.

So, all that is to say, here are a few things I've been enjoying:

1) Grapefruit! I'm sad to see this fruit's peak season go.

2) Arugula. SO flavorful!

3) chives. Love them. I can't wait to grow my own herbs! I'll be planting my awesome Christmas gift from Whitney- a little window box with herb seeds- as soon as we settle in KY!

4) Ripe cherry tomatoes... mmm!

5) Wasa rye. Its so boring until you dress it up and make it delicious!

6) Feta Cheese.

7) Parmesan Cheese.

8) Chevre.

(ok, so those last three are far from super healthy. But SO good! Hey, all things in moderation! I'll never give up the good stuff!)

9) Asparagus. It is in season now so its cheap! A few nights ago I cut it up, boiled it and melted a tiny bit of butter, then seasoned with S+P- it was suprisingly tasty. Since Matt won't touch the stuff I just ate my leftovers at lunch!

10) Lemons! For some reason I JUST picked up on the whole 'put it in my water when I'm at home" thing and I'm LOVING it. For some reason a few slices of lemon in a glass of water is so beautiful to me... and of course, makes ol' H2O more exciting.

Anyway... What are you enjoying? Even if it ain't the good fer ya business? Do share!

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

We had planned to attend a sunrise service at the post chapel but the last week I ran in to someone that gave us a recommendation for a different church (more on this fabulous recommender in a post to follow) and so we gave that a try.

The service was pretty 'seeker' based which wasn't a surprise on Easter. All in all I missed the fabulous sounds of the WHBC choir, but it was fun to go somewhere new and be surrounded by fellow worshipers. We felt very encouraged to find a place we enjoyed as several of our other experiences in the area had been... awkward. Anyway, it was a nice beginning to the celebration of Resurrection Day!

After church we headed back home and started cooking! Wes enjoyed a childhood full of Easter egg hunts and the like so he came over early to hide some eggs out in the playground.

The hunt begins:

The race to find eggs:

I was behind the camera so I didn't find any until Wes pointed the last one out to me- hooray!

The winnings.

Here is latecomer Lee looking for the Easter "basket" (or Walmart bag) that Wes hid for each of us. Lee, as you may guess, is a true Southern boy.

Warmer.... warmer....hot! Hot!

He found it!

So our oven is a trickster. There is no indication of when it is preheated. Also, if the oven is on, most likely the stove burners won't work, so there has to be some good planning ahead. Also there is only one rack in this oven which is strange, and quick tricky! Everything we made had to fit into a small dish or foil casserole item since we're lacking other options. See our crowded oven at stage one- it got worse from here:

That big lump is the ham. mmmm! We are still enjoying the leftovers.

Thankfully I got this guy baked up before everything else had to go in. This was my first attempt at a homemade pecan pie, and it turned out surprisingly well! The Country Boy taste buds kicked in on this meal and they all voted it very good, so I'll take that as a sign of pie-success!

We had one Utahan (me), two Kansans (Z and Matthew, technically :), one Alabaman (Wes), and one Mississippian (Lee) so the Easter of my childhood rang true to these palates. This is truly a meal of casseroles, even without the sweet potato casserole (substituted for the more simple and space-saving baked yams).

Potato Casserole:

Green Bean Casserole:

Sister Shubert's Rolls. MMMMMM.

Deviled eggs. You either love them or hate them (except me- I'll eat 'em, but I don't love them). Fortunately Wes and Z are both avid deviled eggs fans so these got eaten up.

And here we have the spoils from our baskets and hunt :)

We got our favorite red wine to go with dinner and it was great.

The day was a great day of renewal. We had a wonderful time at church. The weather was beautiful and it was a great accompaniment to the feeling of renewal that Easter and the reality of sins atoned bring. We had a great dinner (it is a bit addicting to feed people food and have them go back for more and enjoy it!) and enjoyed watching some March madness, even if poor Mississippi got trampled there at the end.

I made Beef and Guinness stew (it was SUCH a better recipe than the one I made last year. The broth was SO delicious and flavorful!). I also cooked up some potato skins, and made fresh French bread of course!

We had two friends come over and we enjoyed our stew very much! It was a great evening, and we even wore green-- well I did anyway!

As happens every so often, I totally blanked taking pictures, so that's all ya get. More to come.

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Well after a few days of posting like 3 posts minimum per day, I'm just checking in to say I do exist.

Yesterday I was out and and about all day, then went to a wine and cheese party to celebrate Daphne's birthday (a classmate/friend of Matt's). Today I've been cleaning, cooking, and had lunch with Staci! She made the trek out to APG to visit and do lunch while Matthew had to work 8-8... just one more hour and he's off! Then tonight, if mwt has any gas left, we'll be going out to celebrate DJ (another classmate/friend) and his birthday (which is actually the 17th which is SO COOL!).

This is me from last night- we had to dress up and wear black for the wine and cheese bash. I made some delicious baked brie served with Granny Smith tart apples- mm! Top with an easy red and you've got a delicious little smackerel!

Thursday, March 13, 2008

It has only taken her like 10 years to get on the wagon (though some of you reading this, you know who you are, are slower than her...) she did it! And of course it is stylish and scrap-booky looking and wonderful!

Matthew had a really long day yesterday. I spend nearly the entire day cooking- hehe, well from noon on. I made myself a delicious chicken caesar club with homemade caesar dressing. Then I got started on our dinner: beef tacos!

The meat was browned and then bubbled away in a deliciously spiced stew for about 3 hours. After cooling it shredded so beautifully! Shredded beef in mexican food is one of my favorite things to eat so they were quite tasty!

Tyler Florence wrote the recipe. He has you fry the tortillas which we skipped for ease and fat's sake, and then he makes fresh guacamole. Since I'm the only one who likes avocado I sliced it and put it straight on my tacos. He also makes fresh salsa in a food processor but since the only food processor we have here is an Ikea knife, we skipped that too. He has some sliced cabbage (which I LOVE LOVE LOVE, but you could easily skip. I love the crunch), then I did avocado, beef, and we added cheese (no cheese on his recipe, but come on!).

Anyway, they were pretty delicious and REALLY easy as long as you have the time to let the meato simmer away on the stove for a few hours.

Since MwT had a paper to write and studying to do (he got a 97% on his test today! Woo!) I decided I'd make a recipe I'd been wanting to try that is featured on the cover of Gourmet, March 2008.

Profiteroles with icecream and homemade chocolate sauce. Instead of the called for Coffee icecream I stuck with the vanilla we already had. I made the sauce but since we didn't have cream it was a bit thin (due to the milk) but tasted delicious!

These were SO amazingly easy, I was shocked. They literally took 5 minutes to prepare, and since I didn't have a pastry bag I used a plastic bag with the corner cut out and it worked perfectly. Amazing! My form needs some help, but yay!

Now the finished product- forgive my presentation, still working on all that :) There's a bit of caramel sauce on there too.

Here you can see the ice cream in the middle.I think these are a GREAT idea for desert if you have company or a party. You can make the profiteroles a day ahead, and the rest is easy peasy!

There he is! Tapping away on the computer.

It was a great night and I really enjoyed everything we ate! Delicious!Also, we finished off Season 3 of LOST-- NOOO! But really, it is a fun show to watch.Since we were up we also caught the debut of Season 4 of Top Chef...looks like its going to be a good season!

Matthew is home now for a few hours since he finished up his test. I'm off to enjoy his presence!

I think the automatic response from friends and family is "oh no!" Honestly, I'm bummed about it, and disappointed, but I'm not sad. I don't feel super upset, I'm not crying myself to sleep, I'm doing well actually.

I won't deny that I really did want to go there. At the same time, if you've talked to me in the last few months since I decided to and did apply, you'll remember that I always felt 'half and half' about it. I wanted to go and was (am) in love with the program. At the same time, I could delineate more than ten reasons NOT to go to THIS grad school at this time. I don't want to make it sound like I'm taking away from the fact that I'm disappointed and DID want to go. At the same time I think I have known for a while now that it wouldn't work out with Vanderbilt.

It's a mixed blessing really. I mean, no, it isn't mixed. It IS a blessing. It is great to know the answer, one way or another. And honestly it is good to see that I'm bummed, but not torn apart by it. It isn't making me doubt my worth, my intelligence, my academic ability, or that SOMEday I'll pursue a Master's.

I think in some ways this was a sneaky little way of trying to fill in the blank on a very large and gaping hole of unknown. It is difficult to "live with open hands." What I mean is that it is hard to find a healthy balance between doing MY part and using the abilities God has given me, and also to recognize that He is ultimately in control and I can't really change that (nor do I consciously think I want to). I think applying was good, but I'm just now realizing that I was kind of mentally envisioning myself attending school and because that is a familiar and beloved place for me, I could take comfort in that idea. I'm not certain this is wrong, but I feel like I'm already starting to learn a lot about what it is like to live one day, one step at a time. I DON'T have any idea what is next. I think those thoughts are a bit jumbled, sorry.

I think it is GOOD that I applied -- I really learned a lot about myself, the process, and some of the challenges that came along with this process that I didn't expect. I am still very glad I applied. There are three other schools at this point that I may apply to that are more local-type schools. Their applications aren't due until June and July so I have time to think and pray about whether those are good options. I don't want to rule out school simply because I didn't get in to Vanderbilt, but I don't want to go to school simply because I know I CAN do it and am, to whatever degree, fairly decent at it.

So, all that babble is to say thanks! Thanks for your cheering me on and reading draft after draft (Megan, Beth, Staci, Mom, Kim, Matthew, etc) of my personal statement. Thanks for helping me gear up to ask for recommendations (Matthew, Staci, Danette, Megan, Mom...). Thanks for supporting me in this little endeavor, to whatever degree!

Now the question is... what's next? It is kind of funny because before I checked the mail yesterday I was formulating a blog about how I'd love to go to culinary school. I'm not convinced that is what is next for me, but its an option. At this point in my life I still feel like there are about seven different categories/genres that REALLY pull at my brain/heart/nervous system and get me excited, so that leaves the door WIIIIDE open.

Ok, so enough of that. I promise to update you as my thoughts develop. Thanks for reading, and thanks for cheering me on to whatever it is that is next.

Sift together flour and salt into a chilled large metal bowl. Set a grater in flour mixture and coarsely grate frozen butter into flour, gently lifting flour and tossing to coat butter.

Drizzle 5 tablespoons ice water evenly over flour mixture and gently stir with a fork until incorporated.

Test mixture by gently squeezing a small handful: When it has the proper texture, it will hold together without crumbling apart. If necessary, add another tablespoon water, stirring until just incorporated and testing again. (If you overwork mixture or add too much water, pastry will be tough.)

Gather mixture together and form into a 5-inch square, then chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, about 30 minutes. (Dough will be lumpy and streaky.)

Roll out dough on a floured surface with a floured rolling pin into a 15- by- 8-inch rectangle. Arrange dough with a short side nearest you, then fold dough into thirds like a letter: bottom third up and top third down over dough. Rewrap dough and chill until firm, about 30 minutes.

Arrange dough with a short side nearest you on a floured surface and repeat rolling out, folding, and chilling 2 more times. Brush off any excess flour, then wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill at least 1 hour.

This was a great one- if you've ever made this before you know that its missing the Crisco and so its not AS flaky as the store bought. It was pretty low maintenance though, and pretty tasty! I'd add a bit more salt to accompany the salmon dish listed HERE. It's a Giada De Laurentiis. This would be an great recipe to ditch the pastry and have a REALLY healthy and flavorful meal- check it out. Super easy-peasy too!

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

The lastest fab green craze (with which I agree) is to take your own super-tote to the grocery and fill 'er up with them groceries instead of the ol' plastique. I suggest you get THIS canvas bag (it may look familiar to you all as I've been toting it along for a few years now) so you can be the coolest kid on the block!

We Are Scientists comes out with a new album next week, and their new single is OUT NOW! Go on iTunes NOW and get 'er-- After Hours is the one that you want!

And in the mean time, until the album comes out in a town near you, sit back, relax, and enjoy your tote!

PS> Every body should set aside $10 so that you can buy this album. Wouldn't it be SO cool for WAS to blow up in our own USofA?! Check out wearescientists.com for more info, of course.

Tonight we had salmon on layered puff pastry with pesto-- I made the pastry here at home and it actually was pretty good! No Crisco in it so it was less flaky (but less artery-clogging) but pretty good! The dish sounds weird, but its actually a pretty yummy combo of textures and flavors.

These were pretty delicious. I didn't make the cream cheese icing, I made a traditional one, and I think I'd do the cream cheese one if I make them again. They were pretty easy and fun!

I made some banana bread yesterday, but it was pretty dark on top - this new oven is going to take some figuring out! Anyway- no picture because it was ugly, though it tasted fantastic!

Also, Allison had asked for the recipe of the baguette I made a while ago. I made another one this past Thursday and we (me and Matthew) ate the entire thing with some Irish butter and also some homemade garlic butter.

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (usually that's exactly what is in one packet)1 teaspoon sugar1 1/2 cups warm water (105°‐115° F)4 to 41/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (I use just 4 and then a few sprinkles to keep my hands and work space well floured. Also, I like to use bread flour- even better! Unbleached is good too though if that's what ya gots)2 1/2 teaspoons salt (use kosher salt for extra-deliciousness)

In a large bowl sprinkle yeast and sugar over warm water and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. With a wooden spoon stir in 2 cups flour until combined. Stir in salt and 2 cups of remaining flour until mixture forms a stiff dough. On a lightly floured surface knead dough with lightly floured hands 8 minutes, or until smooth and elastic, kneading in enough of remaining 1/2 cup (I use less) flour to keep dough from sticking. Transfer dough to a lightly oiled (I use Olive Oil) deep bowl, turning to coat with oil, and let rise, bowl covered with plastic wrap, until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat oven to 400° F.

Punch down dough and form into a long slender loaf about 21 inches long and 3 inches wide. Put loaf diagonally on a lightly greased large or 17- by 14-inch baking sheet and let rise, uncovered, about 30 minutes. (Baguette may be made up to this point 4 hours ahead and chilled.)

Make 3 or 4 diagonal slashes on loaf with a sharp knife and lightly brush top with cool water (this will give it a crisper crust). Bake loaf in middle of oven 30 minutes, or until golden, and transfer to a rack to cool (use a silpat or the equivalent if you have one).

This is based on a recipe from Epicurious.com, my fave cooking site! The parenthesis are (for the most part) my tips/additions/changes that I've used- after 4 times baking this I can say its a great one! I usually make just 1/2 this recipe because it makes two loaves or one super huge one. You can basically directly half the ingredients and it is perfect! ENJOY!

Sunday, March 09, 2008

This is, as of today, the 6th time I've moved in a year. In the next two months we'll be moving out of here, driving back across the country and moving in with my folks for 2 weeks, then driving BACK across the country and moving in to temporary housing, and then hopefully within a few days find a house or apartment to move into. Whew. I have to tell you this is all one big adventure, but I am seriously ready to settled down. If you count my back and forth between New York (which I do because this involves having my life split in two places at all times), then I haven't lived in one place for longer than 4 months at a time since High School. That is to say, I am REALLY ready to sign a one-year lease or buy a house and pack it in and STAY for a while.

Anyway, enough of that rant. Here are a few pictures of our old apartment:

Our bathroom. Our new one is exactly the same, but with a nicer shower head.

This is the shower. Yes, shaving of the legs is quite a challenge.

Our glorious bedroom! We now have TWO rooms with TWO beds- so all of you guys who were waiting for us to get you a bed so you can come and visit- your wish is our command! But don't forget you've only got a month and a day left....

The living area. This is also exactly the same except we now have one long couch instead of a couch and chair and its a fab used cranberry color. Nothing like jewel tones!

Our kitchen. What's wrong here?

Well in there, if you were looking at it in person,you might notice some green growing in there.

And, as you might imagine, THIS is a problem.

And so, we have the evidence of mold and where we used to live so that, in the future if we are afflicted with mold spores growing in our lungs, we've got proof that it came from a military facility, and we WILL collect, heh. You all are our witnesses.

So, we've moved into a different apartment. It is virtually the same, and the move wasn't too bad, even if it was pouring rain. Thanks to 2 Lt. Turner for our house-warming gift!

The new place's stove, oven, and fridge are all crazy, but hey.... no MOLD!

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Hooray! This last weekend we had a whirlwind trip to Boston. We left our place at 4:15 am after our 3:45am wake up. We made our 6:30am flight, and arrive on time at 7:35-- 15 minutes early. By 9:00 we were at Laura's awesome apartment after a quick trip on the Boston T past ol' Boston University (Where Josh and Laura work! Well, kind of). Laura shares an apartment with Jacky, her coworker. Their place has so much character- nice molding, awesome brick building, cool kitchen and wood flooring, nice bathroom.... so great!

We met up with Josh and headed to brunch at the "best brunch place in Boston"- and it WAS great. I had some excellent huevos rancheros, Matt had some great eggs with some absolutely amazing bread and butter (I can't even describe this butter- it was awesome). After that we headed to the Sam Adams Brewery which was SO neat! We tasted the actual grains they use, sniffed the hops, and then got to taste 3 different beers in cool tasting glasses we got to keep. Woo!

After that we headed to Cambridge and walked around Harvard (BEAUTIFUL) and had burgers at a local fave. I had the Yuppy Burger (Burger, Boursin Cheese, Bacon, Ketchup, delicious bun....) and a great black and white shake. Mmm, lets forget I'm trying to be healthy these days (which you wouldn't know from all the bread I'm baking, but whatever....). After that Matt and I were pretty wiped out since we'd been up for QUITE a while at that point and wanted to live through the night, so we grabbed our bags from Laura's and checked into our hotel for a little nap.

After our nap we met up with Josh and Laura and went to a little Tapas bar (can't remember the name, woops). It was the first time for tapas for both me and Matthew so that was an adventure! We both LOVED the variety and options! Unfortunately we had forgotten our camera for the entire day until dinner.. so cue pictures! We promised ourselves we'd be back since obviously we couldn't see the whole city in 36 hours!

Josh and Laura! The will-be-married-in-93-(Ithink)-days happy couple!

And us! We have hard times taking pictures...

Managed to get those eyes open :)

The fab spread! Actually this is just the bread and pesto/bean/butter and then our sangria which was so fruity and delicious!

We had a great time (and TONS of food- try 9 different little dishes, all great! Except the weird chicken that was on special.... we should have known....)

After that we went to another place so Matthew could get a Guinness in Boston. Most places in the US get their Guinness from a Brewer in Canada. Boston gets it straight from ol' Ireland, plus you've got to drink Guinness in Boston, right? So we did!

This is Josh's Black and Tan- you can kind of see where the Guinness and Sam Adams separate just under the logo on the glass.

The next day we headed to church at CityLife Church of Boston which, happily, is a Redeemer plant! Redeemer is our church in New York (ours as in Josh, Laura, and mine, and essentially Matthew since if he had lived there he would have been a Redeemerite). I was pretty windy and cold, but it was a vast improvement over the snow and rain the day before.

Part of the Boston Common where we walked after church.

Aw.

There are a lot of really old cool graveyards in Boston.

Yay!

I don't know.

heh. You know that face!Laura noticed that someone had probably just proposed at this little rotunda-- there were some red rose petals and tea lights left behind.

A mysterious little door.

Reading the engraving.

A beautiful street at the top of the Commons that I'm pretty sure is famous but I've forgotten the name now. It is pretty though!

Don't Dump! Drains to Charles River!

The capital! Matt was so psyched to see this- the entire time we were there he'd say "this was in the Departed", "that was in the Departed" heh.

Paul Revere!

Sorry this is crooked, I'm lazy. This is the very tower where ol' Pauley boy hung the lanterns!

The grave stones have such cool engravings. I wish I could remember some of what they said, they almost sound fake. They were cool.

The river! The old ship behind Matt is the USS Constellation-the last wooden ship in the US Navy.

We stumbled upon a city toilet and had to give it a try. See here the screen says "Please choose the suitable position of the toilet bowl." The options were "left," "center," and "right."

Inserting 25 cents.

Instructions- you get 20 minutes. An alarm will sound at 20 minutes and the doors will open. You better get your business done on time!

Matt actually tried it first. After he came out the doors closed and we could hear it cleaning itself for like 3 minutes- it sounds and looks as thought it like steam cleans the whole thing or something like that. MUCH cleaner than your average public restroom, to be sure. Still not so clean that I'd want to use it, but probably actually a pretty good option if you're a menfolk.

And so, ridiculously, the last picture I took in boston was the inside of the toilet. We walked around all over the place and had a great lunch at a brewery that Josh and Laura love. We made it back to the airport, saw some drunk dudes get kicked off their flight, and then headed home. After finding our car in the incredibly high tech Baltimore Washington International Airport parking, we finally made it home around 12:15am on Monday- what a full day!

It was SO wonderful to see Josh and Laura and to have a little escape from our world here. Thank you SO much to Josh and Laura soon to be Mr. and Mrs. Ziesel -- you were fantastic tour guides and it was so wonderful to spend time with you both!